Michigan State Drops Game at Penn State, 62-58

East Lansing, Mich. – No. 19 Michigan State led by as many as 14 points in the second half but could not hang on, as Penn State came from behind to beat the Spartans, 62-58, at the Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday night.

Junior forward Julius Marble (Dallas, Texas/Dallas Jesuit) scored 14 points and had eight rebounds to lead the Spartans, while freshman guard Max Christie (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) added 10 points and three rebounds.

Records
Michigan State falls to 18-7 overall and 9-5 in the Big Ten, while Penn State improves to 13-9 overall and 5-9 in league play.

Recap

The Spartans led by as many as 14 points in the second half and were still ahead by four points, 54-50, after a jumper from junior guard Tyson Walker (Westbury, N.Y./Christ the King/Northeastern) with 3:39 left.
That was the last field goal for 3:36 for MSU as Penn State's Seth Lundy hit a 3-pointer and then gave the Nittany Lions a 55-54 lead with 1:37 left, a lead they would not relinquish.
John Harrrar converted a three-point play to push the lead to 58-54 before Marble hit a basket to cut the deficit to 58-56, but Penn State hit four free throws in the final 20 seconds to close out the game.
Tied at 24-all at the break, Michigan State came out quick in the second half with free throws from Christie and back-to-back 3-pointers from redshirt senior Joey Hauser (Stevens Point, Wis./Stevens Point/Marquette) and senior forward Gabe Grown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville), giving the Spartans a 32-24 lead and forcing a timeout.
Penn State followed with a 3-pointer, but MSU proceeded to go on an 11-2 run and took a 43-29 lead on a hook shot from Marble at the 13:20 mark.
The Nittany Lions, however, responded with a 15-2 run and pulled to within 45-44 on a basket from Jalanni White with 8:28 to play, setting up the comeback.
The teams went into the half tied at 24-all after a basket from sophomore center Mady Sissoko (Bafoulabe, Mali, West Africa/Wasatch Academy [Utah]) with 1:12 left, ending a run of 5:12 without a basket for the Spartans.
MSU had jumped to the lead from the start and led by seven points twice, the last at 18-11 on a jumper from Marble with 9:28 left.
A jumper from Christie gave MSU a 22-16 lead with 6:24 to play, but the Nittany Lions took advantage of eight first-half turnovers by the Spartans, using an 8-0 run to take a 24-22 lead on free throws from Jalen Pickett with 1:30 to play.

Up Next
Michigan State returns home to host No. 12 Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 19 at the Breslin Center (noon, ESPN).

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Team Stats

Julius Marble II

Max Christie

Tyson Walker

Gabe Brown

Players Mentioned

Max Christie

Joey Hauser

Mady Sissoko

Tyson Walker

Players Mentioned

Max Christie

Joey Hauser

Mady Sissoko

Tyson Walker